Speakly, an Estonian language learning startup, has raised €900,000 in a seed round led by Finnish firm Superhero Capital, with the participation of Estonian VCs Trind Ventures and Contriber Ventures, London-Stockholm-based TrueSight Ventures, and private angels.

The Tallinn-based startup was founded in 2018 by two polyglots, Ott Ojamets and Ingel Keskpaik, who speak seven languages each. Ojamets created a scientific approach to language learning, which is based on the statistical relevance of words and sentences. The technology underlying the platform, including the statistical relevance lists and mathematical algorithms, has been developed over several years.

With the statistical relevance approach, learners can practice common interactions and real-life conversations sooner. In a press release, the edtech company claims its method is five times faster and ten times more affordable than traditional learning methods, though there were no comparisons to direct competitors in the e-learning space.

“What better proof of Speakly’s method than having business angels who have been studying with the platform, join the round,” said Keskpaik.

Lessons are currently available in eight languages: Estonian, English, Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. More languages and new features will be added, thanks to the seed funding.